First tip: rent a car. Although moving around Lofoten by bus can be an experience on its own, you will have way more freedom by car.

Because a journey from Umeå to Å (the tip of the Lofoten land) would be long and strenuous, we took a train from Umeå to Kiruna and rented a car there. This allowed us to stop and enjoy the beauty of Abisko while driving through the area. This national park deserves its own trip!

The road was comfortable. Wide enough and there was not much traffic. The sun was shining brightly. It was already mid-May, so in the evening, we were greeted by endless light. We were too early to see the never-setting sun, but it always remained bright.

After around 10 hours of driving (incl. stopping and admiring the wonders of nature), we reached our accommodation near Ballstad (in the middle of Lofoten).

Lofoten is full of hiking areas. One of them was located just outside our accommodation: Ballstad. The weather during our whole trip changed between regular fog-like showers and sunny times. Here, it showered and the top of the hill was wrapped in fog. The hiking path was somewhat slippery, but the views were beautiful :)

Here, you can see the first colour pallete of the area: cloudy gray and dark red. However, it is not dull gray, but rather a pallete of multiple shades of gray.

The archipelago of Lofoten is more than 100 km long. As we were situated in the middle, we chose different distances and directions each day, and stopped at all the beautiful places in between.

Ramberg is one of the many beaches you can find here, and it is sandy. How did the sand get here among black rocks? Who knows. But one thing is certain: it probably wasn't put here artificially, as the area of sand spans well into the middle of the deep fjords.

Here, it was raining so pouringly that in the 10 seconds it took us to take this self-timer picture, the lens was covered with droplets of water. Yet, the weather was beautiful for experiencing this awesome nature. From artistic point of view, just look at the aerial perspective – how the colours are more and more washed out towards light gray with distance.

The hike to the Kvalvika Beach is a an interesting hike. Under extreme weather conditions, it can be dangerous – some parts of the path are slippery and steep simultaneously. The path is to some extent fortified with wood, nonetheless. The mountain pass was still partly covered in snow. However, the views are breathtaking and worth every step.

When you approach the beach, you can notice its distinct two colours: first, the dark sand/mud area, and later the bright sandy coast. Combine that with colourful sea :)

If you watched the movie North of the Sun, you may recognise the nearby mountaintop. To no surprise, this is where the film took place. If you walk along the coast, you can still find the cabin they built from salvaged material washed up onshore!

You see, there are so many beaches here. But each of them is special in some way. To further increase their diversity, the weather changes all the time, causing different colours to pop each time!

This beach is spacious (and in our case sunny) enough to put on swimming suit and swim a little bit :) The water was freezingly cold, however. More specifically, 5,2 °C. But we had a lot of fun! 🏖

This hike is one of the go-tos in Lofoten! The name might remind you of a queen in French.

Already beneath the hill, you can adore the beautiful fjord. However, once you ascend, the feelings are intensified through the roof. A view which opens is simply spectacular.

While descending, absorb the vibe of surrounding mountains. If you look just at the opposite of the viewpoint, the hills might seem familiar to you. Why? Disney's Frozen has been inspired by this area! 👸🏻❄🧊

During winter, there's danger of avalanches and skids, so check in advance when to visit it.

More than a millenium ago, Vikings were the kings of Scandinavian seas. They are an inseparable part of Norwegian culture and history; and in praise of them, you can find Viking museums in Nordic countries. One of them is also Lofoten, called Lofotr Viking Museum.

The museum consists of a permanent collection inside the museum and an outside skansen-like exhibition. In one of the buildings, they still produce swords and other equipment, allegedly the same traditional way. There's an inside fireplace, and if you are still cold, you can wear their festivity and leader's everyday clothes.

Since Vikings were not just one big group, they had to collaborate and have senior meetings. But above all, they were masters of building ships. There's still a shipyard with replicas of boats and sailboats a 15-minute walk away.

When people think about animals of Lofoten, usually the first thought is orcas and auks, large eagles and mooses. These animals indeed roam, swim and fly around the landscape.

However, to keep the grass greener, there are also sheep wandering through the diverse terrain.

The area of Lofoten is famous for a special species of fish: torskfish. If you dry it, you get stockfish. In Slovenian, we call them splinter of wood fish and log fish, respectively.

This dried cad is an extreme source of protein (more than 80 % of mass is proteins). The method of drying in cold air is more than a thousand years old.